Forward from mart. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY.
[ "U.N. chief says Iraq war was illegal" ] All fine and good. Now, when is the U.N going to issue international arrest warrants for war criminals Bush and Blair and set up a tribunal to try them?? Don't hold your breath. mart ============================================= http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=584742§ion=news Reuters.Co.UK Thu 16 September, 2004 13:20 U.N. chief says Iraq war was illegal "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the U.N. Charter from our point of view, from the chapter point of view, it was illegal." U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan By Mike Peacock LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, Australia and a former U.S. official, stung by criticism from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal. All three governments face elections in the near future and have had to grapple with varying degrees of public disquiet about their decision to wage war against Saddam Hussein. Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Annan said the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was illegal as it violated the U.N. Charter. Asked whether he thought it broke international law, Annan said: "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the U.N. Charter from our point of view, from the chapter point of view, it was illegal." Not so, said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, on the campaign trail ahead of an October 9 election. "The legal advice that we had, and I tabled it at the time, was that the action was entirely valid in international law terms," he told Australian radio. Howard's view was echoed by Prime Minister Tony Blair's office, which said the government's top lawyer -- Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith -- had reached the same conclusion before the invasion was launched in March last year. Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt said she respected Annan but disagreed with him. "We spelt out at the time our reasons for believing the conflict in Iraq was indeed lawful and why we believed it was necessary," she said. There was no official response from Washington, where President George W. Bush will fight Democrat John Kerry for the presidency in November. But Randy Scheunemann, a former adviser to hawkish U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said Annan had no right to question the legal judgement of U.N. member states. "To do this 51 days before an American election reeks of political interference," he told the BBC. Blair is expected to call an election in May next year. Poland, another staunch backer of U.S.-led military action in Iraq but where legislative elections are not due until the end of next year, insisted the invasion was legal, listing U.N. resolutions relating to Iraq. "It must be said that the decision which the international community took on Iraq had a legal basis," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Washington and London withdrew a draft U.N. resolution in March last year after it was clear there were not enough votes. France had threatened a veto if U.N. inspectors were not given more time to account for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. Blair's public trust ratings have plunged as inspectors, scouring Iraq after the war, found no such weapons on the ground. Bush has suffered less dramatically. In Australia, Howard's opponent, Labour leader Mark Latham, has made Iraq a major electoral issue, saying he wants Australia's remaining 850 troops in and around Iraq home by Christmas if he wins office. IRAQ POLLS IN DOUBT? Annan also questioned whether Iraq could hold elections in January if violence persisted. "You cannot have credible elections if the security conditions continue as they are now," he said. Violence has exploded in Iraq in recent months. On Thursday, gunmen snatched a Briton and two Americans from a Baghdad house, the latest in a wave of abductions of foreigners. Blair's office reacted sharply. The prime minister will hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on Sunday. "Violence in Iraq is obviously disturbing," Blair's spokesman said. "However ... Iraq as a whole is not dominated by violence. All the evidence from Iraq shows there is a real hunger for democracy." If Iraq's electoral timetable were to falter, it would prove awkward for Blair as he prepares to fight an election, hoping by then the Iraq war would have faded in the nation's memory. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/VL0olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Peruuta ryhm�n tilaus l�hett�m�ll� s�hk�postia osoitteeseen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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